Lord of the Isles Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Anonymizerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Is this vote actually going to change anything on the forum by the way, or was it just a vote to gauge opinion? (I'm just pretty sick of a certain few posters) Well I started the poll and was waiting before all the results were in before commenting further. It seems that most posters only have one account. The actual figure may be less than quoted as people that run sock-puppets, for some reason, may not admit to it - in fact only 2 have. Again, most voters think users should have only one account. I suspect the rate is higher than the vote, as the 'no' vote will be inflated by the sock-puppet users (of which there are more than 2). Conclusion? If it were technologically possible, it seems that most forum users would prefer that sock-puppets aren't allowed. If I'm having an argument with someone online, I'd like to know that I'm arguing with one rather than having two gang up on me, who happen to be the same person. I don't know how it could be done - registration requires an e-mail address, but it's easy enough to set up plenty of those. Anything involving IP addresses wouldn't work, as they're all dynamic - not that I know much about this sort of thing. Perhaps a passport number, or a NI number, or a postal address to complete registration would work, however I'm sure that would put 90+% of users off using the forum at all - me included. So it'll have to stay the same as it is, with a mixture of obvious and non-obvious sock-puppets amongst us. As Lonan said, it's ManxForums, and they don't like change. I'm not sure you can claim victory in your bizarre poll. If we look at the comments on the thread, every Subscriber, or Mod who replied was against a ban. Those in favour of the ban have made 5,053 posts, those against 98,268. Even then the people for a ban haven't been able to articulate a reason for a ban (you don't). So should the forum add a rule that those who run the forum don't want (and can't enforce by any means other than guess work), those who've helped fund the forum don't want, and those who post most regularly don't want. On the say so of a few anonymous people, most who never post, and have yet to offer a single reason for this weird rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I too am not convinced. The results of the poll also have an uncanny resemblance to the statistics on the number of films recently made by Nicolas Cage, as well as the estimated number of Manx cats estimated to currently be living in Liverpool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 I'm not sure you can claim victory in your bizarre poll. If we look at the comments on the thread, every Subscriber, or Mod who replied was against a ban. Those in favour of the ban have made 5,053 posts, those against 98,268. Even then the people for a ban haven't been able to articulate a reason for a ban (you don't). So should the forum add a rule that those who run the forum don't want (and can't enforce by any means other than guess work), those who've helped fund the forum don't want, and those who post most regularly don't want. On the say so of a few anonymous people, most who never post, and have yet to offer a single reason for this weird rule. I didn't realise it was a win or lose situation, and I don't see why the poll is bizarre - in other threads there was much talk of sock-puppets, so I tried to find out the forum's opinion. What is rather bizarre is going through the entire thread with a calculator and adding up the post counts of the various contributors. I can see your point about moderators and subscribers, but I don't understand why posting thousands of times means your opinion is more valid than someone who posts infrequently - it just means you've spent longer on the forum. I can't see why anyone interested in sensible discussion would not want a ban on sock-puppet accounts - can you give me a reason you think they're a good idea? I thought I had given a reason why I'd support a ban - if I'm arguing with 2 people I'd like to know they're not one and the same person. Of course, with only about 1600 posts my opinion is irrelevant. What I'll have to do is substantially increase my posting frequency, get myself a few more accounts, build up my total post count and run the poll again. Then, in your world, my opinion(s) will carry more weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Sausages Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I can't see why anyone interested in sensible discussion would not want a ban on sock-puppet accounts - can you give me a reason you think they're a good idea? Because they can be funny. I have about 5 usernames I think. One is my real name which I'll use on classifieds. The others don't get used, apart from one gimmick that gets dusted off now and then. A lot of people here posted on manx.net where sock puppets ruled. If this thread was started on manx.net there'd be 5 different people called "Sock Puppet" on this thread, 3 "wrighty"s, and "wrighty's mum" by now. And it was just a bit of fun. If there are sock puppets being used here it's tame by those standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey_magic Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I agree with Mr. Sausages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ike Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Having read through this thread, I think the people who seem to have a thing against sockpuppets all have one thing in common. They're boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paswt Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 whereas those who have to create them as they are lonely are ……………………... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I'm not sure you can claim victory in your bizarre poll. If we look at the comments on the thread, every Subscriber, or Mod who replied was against a ban. Those in favour of the ban have made 5,053 posts, those against 98,268. Even then the people for a ban haven't been able to articulate a reason for a ban (you don't). So should the forum add a rule that those who run the forum don't want (and can't enforce by any means other than guess work), those who've helped fund the forum don't want, and those who post most regularly don't want. On the say so of a few anonymous people, most who never post, and have yet to offer a single reason for this weird rule. I didn't realise it was a win or lose situation, and I don't see why the poll is bizarre - in other threads there was much talk of sock-puppets, so I tried to find out the forum's opinion. What is rather bizarre is going through the entire thread with a calculator and adding up the post counts of the various contributors. I can see your point about moderators and subscribers, but I don't understand why posting thousands of times means your opinion is more valid than someone who posts infrequently - it just means you've spent longer on the forum. I can't see why anyone interested in sensible discussion would not want a ban on sock-puppet accounts - can you give me a reason you think they're a good idea? I thought I had given a reason why I'd support a ban - if I'm arguing with 2 people I'd like to know they're not one and the same person. Of course, with only about 1600 posts my opinion is irrelevant. What I'll have to do is substantially increase my posting frequency, get myself a few more accounts, build up my total post count and run the poll again. Then, in your world, my opinion(s) will carry more weight. Well you've missed the point. I'm saying your poll is suspect since most of the regular posters have come out against a ban, therefore most of the yes (only you, Tarne, and Manxman1980 have substantial post counts) voters have to be lurkers. Why change the forum to appease people who rarely post here? I made that point a week ago and you ignored it and claimed your pyrrhic victory anyway. We are going through an unusual period, where one or two posters are being dicks. We've been through these periods before, they always burn themselves out. Crazily, you want to introduce a rule that will affect us all just to deal with these guys, but once they're dealt with or run out of steam the rule will still stand. So no Zombie Dave, no Ritchie, no using a second account to maintain your anonymity on sensitive issues, no Civil Servant, no one off joke accounts, and no keeping work and home accounts separate. We'll lose more than we gain, simply because you can't spot and ignore a few idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I can't see why anyone interested in sensible discussion would not want a ban on sock-puppet accounts - can you give me a reason you think they're a good idea? Because they can be funny. I have about 5 usernames I think. One is my real name which I'll use on classifieds. The others don't get used, apart from one gimmick that gets dusted off now and then. A lot of people here posted on manx.net where sock puppets ruled. If this thread was started on manx.net there'd be 5 different people called "Sock Puppet" on this thread, 3 "wrighty"s, and "wrighty's mum" by now. And it was just a bit of fun. If there are sock puppets being used here it's tame by those standards. Why does your silhouette avatar have what appears to be a set of male genitalia attached to the parietal bone? To wit: Ahhhh.... I get it. You're just letting folks know what kind of head you are. Well, message received and understood! As for "Because they can be funny" experience has shown that in most cases (eg TJ) that should be qualified with "if you're about five..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 @Declan - The main reason the poll results are suspect is possibly because individuals can vote many times using their sock-puppets. As was suggested in another thread, perhaps the reason for many lurkers is that people are put off posting by the 'one or two posters being dicks'. Perhaps the forum would be a bit more vibrant and less of a slag-fest amongst a dozen or so frequent posters if the sock-puppetry could be tamed. As I said in the opening post, I don't mind the obvious comedy accounts - if well done they are entertaining. I'd prefer it however if we could get rid of the posters whose posting style is to attack others, quickly followed up by a supporting post from one of their other accounts. They don't put me off much, I tend to ignore them, but I know they have put others off continuing on here. I don't think it's crazy to want to introduce a rule that according to you will 'affect us all' - it wouldn't affect me as I don't have multiple accounts. It's just my opinion, if the majority disagree then that's fine, majority rules. I'm not convinced however that your interpretation of the majority is necessarily correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Not like any male genitalia I have ever seen. Not that I have ever seen any set at such a jaunty angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 @Declan I'm not convinced however that your interpretation of the majority is necessarily correct. Didn't you know ???!!! Declan knows what an "average poster" actually is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.K. Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Not like any male genitalia I have ever seen. Not that I have ever seen any set at such a jaunty angle. You need to get out more... Wish mine could make a "jaunty angle"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bananaman Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Wish mine could make a "jaunty angle"... Rubber dingy rapids Blud! Do sum aye! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.